Sometimes that awful, depressing news evolves into the ‘good news boost’ we so desperately needed to lift our collective spirits.

This was the case when heartless intruders trashed the home of kind-hearted Junee grandmother Lou Stapleton in mid February.

Mrs Stapleton’s home was a mess in the aftermath, but the piles of clothing strewn around the house paled in comparison to the wreckage of her granddaughter’s beloved doll house.

The young girl, whose family requested remain anonymous, broke Mrs Stapleton’s heart when she bravely attempted to pick up the pieces and fix what remained of her favourite toy.

But disappointment and despair quickly turned to excitement and joy. 

Less than 24 hours after the devastating events were recounted in last week’s Junee Southern Cross, Mrs Stapleton was stunned to receive emails and voice messages which had come all the way from Europe. 

The messages were from Amsterdam-based Simon van Dijk, business development manager at toy manufacturer KidKraft, who was so touched by the story that he could not bring himself to stand by as the family continued to suffer. 

Just minutes after reading the article, he reached out to Mrs Stapleton to offer her granddaughter a new doll house free of charge, ensuring the Stapleton family’s emotional roller coaster ended on a high.  

It was a testament to the wonders of technology that an article written in a regional NSW town of less than 5,000 people found its way to the offices of a European-based corporation. 

More importantly, it was a testament to the human spirit prevailing over the kind of dog acts which are a blight on our community, and it was all made possible by Mr van Dijk.

He emerged as the rarely seen human face behind big business, proving large corporations aren’t always soleless, faceless operations.

He also provided exactly the kind of good news Mrs Stapleton, and perhaps the rest of us, needed in a time of widely-publicised doom and gloom.